Jove: The Human Chronicles

Prologue

-Eighteen years ago

Thousands of metres under the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, a fleet of war submarines closed in on the ancient city of Atlantis.

"Captain Mendoza, we’ve locked onto the target." A voice crackled in the ear of the singular man floating in the water ahead of the armada. He was wearing a pressure suit specially designed to protect him from the elements. All of them.

Good work. Hold your positions and wait for my signal. He answered by pressing the receiver on his neck. We’re about to meet some resistance.

Captain Mendoza had been waiting for this day a long time. It was the day he would acquire the power to destroy the hidden world, permanently.

As he had anticipated, a dark figure emerged from the ocean depths. Its body was silhouetted from the shimmering lights glowing from within the city below. The Captain suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head as the creature attempted to invade his mind. He immediately put up his mental defences and spoke using only his thoughts.

"Triton, come to fight us alone? How heroic of you."

The figure paused, surprised at the human’s response. It blinked its large yellow eyes as the spotlights from the submarines revealed its naked alien body.

Unlike the fleet captain, this creature was wearing nothing to protect it from the immense water pressure. In fact, its body was already adapted to survive in this harsh environment.

As much as this Triton looked like a human, it bore a lot of differences. For starters, there was no clear sign that showed whether the creature was male or female. Instead its body had simply smoothed over, flawless. Folds of skin stretched between its fingers and toes that blended in with the dark blue ocean and kept the creature stable is it hovered in the water.

Its most disturbing feature, however, was the lack of mouth upon its alien face. Instead, its features were blank except for a set of gills on either side of its neck and two thin slits for nostrils residing underneath its eyes.

None of these strange features seemed to deter the Captain and instead he stared at the alien creature with malice.

"I was expecting to fight some kind of Merpesces army. Mendoza taunted further. But I guess I’ll have to settle for the Incarnate itself."

"What do you want Human?" Triton projected back threateningly. Although they were underwater and neither could speak aloud, the two managed to converse quite clearly with their minds.

"I think you know what I want. I am here to extract the fifth element. With it I will have the power to rid the world of you and your vermin."

A slight twinge of fear flickered through Triton’s thoughts.

How does he know? It tried to scan further into Mendoza’s mind for more information but his defences were stronger than expected. Triton thought best to be cautious.

"You seem quite educated about the hidden world. But perhaps there is still a great deal that you do not know, nor can handle…"

I know exactly who and what you are Triton, the Captain interjected harshly. "Today the Incarnate of the Merpesces shall fall, finally allowing Humans to conquer and triumph as the superior race."

"If you truly know who I am then you must know that you and your fleet stand no chance in defeating me." Triton projected back with equal malice.

Mendoza merely scoffed. "Surely you of all creatures know that everyone has their weak points. Even you."

Your own weaknesses far outweigh any the Incarnate would ever hold, Captain.

Don’t count on it. Mendoza projected.

There was something about the tone in the Captain’s last thought that made Triton twitch uncomfortably. It glanced at the dimly lit city below them. The alarm had been raised and Atlantis’ inhabitants were preparing for the oncoming attack while the younger spawn were being evacuated. If Triton did not act now to hold off the fleet they would not have stood a chance; and these humans seemed to know too much already.

In the blink of an eye, Triton shot forward towards Mendoza, but he was already in action. With a single motion of his arm the submersibles honed in on the Incarnate with incredible speed. Each of them shot a torpedo aimed directly at the blue creature’s body.

Instantly reacting, Triton froze the water around each of them, stopping the missiles merely metres from its body. In return, the Incarnate shot jets of pressurised water toward the machines, forcing them backwards. For a second, they all appeared to have been thrown off course, but they quickly recovered.

Not wanting to give them a fighting chance, Triton froze the water around the submarine motors and encased the hulls in ice. This seemed to work.

How could you even think of defeating me in my own territory? Such insolence. Even for a human.

If Triton had a mouth, it could have been said that it had spoken too soon. The ice suddenly exploded off the shells of the submarines and they gained full motion again.

So quick to assume the end, Mendoza projected through the shards of ice floating through the water. "Do you really think that I would not have come prepared?"

Triton was starting to get worried, but quickly reassured itself that humans had a number of weaknesses, Not if can crush the air in your lungs!

The Incarnate focussed on all the air supplies within the hulls of the submarines and also within the Captain’s lungs.

Contract, pressurize and explode.

Triton was about to release the final command when the energy was somehow blocked and forced back at full force. A slight electrical surge shimmered in the water.

How? …well if air won’t work, maybe heat will throw them off.

Directing all energy to the centre of its body, Triton converted all of its emotion into a heat that immediately affected the surroundings. The water started to bubble and warp as the temperature quickly rose. If Triton’s skin was not already conditioned for every environment on the planet, its body would surely have been cooked through. The water was almost at boiling point when Triton focussed even more intensity at the submarines to melt their systems.

But to no avail.

Glancing at Mendoza, the Incarnate was surprised to see that he was calmly treading water as if he was enjoying the sensation. The thermal energy had no effect on his pressurized suit.

Angry, Triton shot a burning jet of water at Mendoza. The Captain saw it coming and managed to avoid it easily. In retaliation, he raised his hand signalling for his fleet to make their move.

A powerful electronic pulse emitted through the water and Triton immediately grabbed its head. A high-pitch screech ruptured its thoughts and pain coursed through its blue body. It drained all its energy and made it seemingly impossible to maintain focus.

In an act of desperation, Triton launched its body upwards toward Mendoza at breakneck speed, but he was ready. Triggering something in his high-tech suit, another powerful electrical current emanated from his body and surged through the water. Tritons body immediately tensed up and began to twitch and seize uncontrollably. The Incarnate was helpless as Mendoza descended through the water. He pressed his finger onto the speech function on his neck so that his prey could hear aloud.

I know how you function. Mendoza’s voice crackled through the water as he circled Triton. Although as the Incarnate you have attained the attributes of each race, you are still of Merpesces origin. You solely rely on electric pulses within your brain to communicate and survive. I believe we humans have harnessed and made great accomplishments in electricity and technology over the years.

"What . . . are you . . . getting at?" Tritons projection was scrambled as the electrical pulses in its brain were giving out. Its entire body was paralysed and could do nothing as the fleet started moving downward towards Atlantis.

We humans have proved superior to you and the other races. We are truly the dominant species.

Mendoza moved in on Tritons alien face until their eyes were just inches apart. Although the Captain was wearing a thick diving mask and suit, Triton could sense his eyes glaring with revolt. Its body continued to writhe and twitch with pain.

Once I destroy your dismal city, I will uncover and master the fifth element and use it to eradicate the four hidden races for good. Their pathetic attempt of survival that the Incarnate has spent so many years to protect will all have been a waste. They will die and you, the Incarnate, will cease to exist.

The Captain released the electrical field and forced Tritons limp body downward in the water. He pulled what seemed to be a large harpoon gun from the pack fastened to his suit. It was attached to a compact generator that Triton figured was the source of the electrical pulse. As Mendoza pressed his finger around the trigger, Triton saw his chance.

The moment the field had been relinquished Triton seized control and managed to force his mindstream back into Mendoza’s thoughts and take over his brain function. The Captain’s body simply froze in the water.

"You say you know us Merpesces? Triton projected as Mendoza fought to regain movement. Then surely you have not forgotten our strongest point and greatest weakness. Our ability to read minds and project thoughts is yes, powered by electric currents. A single pinch of these pulses anywhere in your body can cause permanent damage. One in your brain is almost certainly fatal."

Mendoza froze and Triton sensed fear flood through his thoughts. He couldn’t even signal for the fleet to assist him. All he could do was merely project a thought back to Triton.

"No Merpesces has ever mastered the movement pulses in the brain. Doing so means blocking your own pulses. Even if you could, you cannot stop my fleet."

Now it was Tritons turn to take on the mocking tone, "There are many benefits to being the Incarnate and having my power. I am no ordinary Merpesces. You all stand no chance."

Mendoza fought desperately for control and his body thrashed about in the water but the Incarnate’s hold was too strong. He made another desperate projection.

Even with that power, it will kill you.

"Then I shall be reborn again, and my cycle shall continue. You, fortunately for all, will not have the same fate."

I can survive you. Mendoza projected threateningly, "Once you die, myself and my followers will find you and end you."

"Then so be it, Triton projected one last time, Let the search begin."

Triton mentally reached for every mindstream in the vicinity and felt each of their final thoughts of panic. Mendoza fought with every ounce of energy for his hand to reactivate the electrical field. But Tritons mind moved faster than the Captain’s body ever could.

Mustering all the energy in its own mind, Triton bridged the connections and readied to block them once and for all. Just as the Incarnate was ready to shut them off, Mendoza used the moment to try and sever the connection, but not quickly enough.

In an instant, every living organism within a one mile radius fell silent. An eerie sense of death floated through the water above Atlantis. The city was safe; their secret was safe; the entirety of all the other races was safe. For now.

Amongst the dead limp bodies and floating masses of metal, a single body started to twitch. A spark of life returned to Mendoza’s brain. Feeling returned to only some parts of his body, but it was enough to slowly help him move through the water. Using the little energy he had left, he struggled upwards toward the surface before his body gave out from exhaustion and lack of oxygen.

Captain Mendoza was now more driven than ever. The next Incarnate would now be born as a Human. This would either confirm the success or failure of his vision.

The search was on…

The Average Jove

-Present Day

Left punch…

Right punch…

Left punch…

A group of teenagers were practicing their karate sets in the local park. The early morning sun had just broken over the horizon and was casting a warm light over the class. Their instructor, dressed in a long white karate robe, walked up and down the line of students, counting them in for each punch. He stopped in front of one of the older teenagers.

Very good Jove. He grabbed the boy’s fist and showed his stance to the rest of the class. Keep your arms steady and level with your legs, he shifted in an attempt to knock the boy over, but the teen remained standing. This strengthens your stance and makes it harder to overthrow your opponent.

Jove Boyd felt proud of himself. He had been taking karate lessons ever since starting high school and was now one of the more senior students that gathered in the park most mornings before school.

It was his mother’s idea initially; something about discipline and being able to protect yourself against danger in the real world. Not that he minded. He enjoyed the idea of being able to kick someone else’s arse if he needed to.

Good job all of you. A couple more months and some of you will be ready to go for your black belts. The instructor glanced at Jove before dismissing the class. The students bowed and proceeded to grab their things before heading home to get ready for school.

Show off. Ben, one of the other students, commented as he walked up to his mate.

Hey don’t complain. Jove retaliated. You’re already good at every other sport at school. Give me something to be proud of.

Ben was in the same grade as Jove and often beat him at everything both in class and on the sports field.

I suppose. Make the most of it until the Phys Ed exam this arv. I’ll see you at school. Ben winked before heading off around the block. Jove continued in the opposite direction towards home.

Like every other normal school morning, the house was dormant as Jove walked in. His mother had already left to go to work a few hours earlier.

She was a single parent with the modest job of a nurse at the local hospital. It was enough to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads, but the shift work meant that Jove was often home alone.

Jove’s father, on the other hand, had been out of the picture for as long as he could remember. His mother had told him that he had died shortly before he was born. Jove never heard her talk about him much, so he decided years ago never to dwell on the subject.

Following his morning ritual, Jove grabbed his uniform and headed for the shower. As he washed himself, he went over his school timetable in his head thinking what he had to pack for the day.

Tuesday… Tuesday… Damn, double Maths first up, he thought as he stepped out of the shower and inspected himself in the mirror. His hazel eyes stared back at him underneath a sheet of messy, dark brown hair.

He wasn’t a very well-built kid. In fact, he might have been considered a bit of a geek from his physical appearance. Lately he had been trying to bulk up by taking a few extra karate classes and protein shakes. More recently though, there were more important things for the soon-to-be graduate to worry about. It was only a few months until graduation and Jove still had no idea what he wanted to do after school finished.

He tensed his muscles in his reflection to see if the extra work and bulk-up shakes had been working. Apparently not, so he continued to dry himself off.

This process usually took him longer than it would a normal person. For some strange reason, water seemed to have some sort of attraction to his skin. Any tiny drop of water in the air stuck to his body in the same way that it would condense on a cold glass. This had been going on for as long as Jove could remember and, as a result, he had always been scared of going to school on a rainy day as he never stayed dry.

After getting dressed, Jove made his way into the kitchen to make up another protein shake and a bowl of Weet-Bix before sitting in the lounge to watch the morning news. The newsreader flickered into life as she read the latest report.

"…In other news, locals are being told to be on the lookout for a suspicious characters stalking the streets in the Boonda area. They have been sighted wearing black clothing, concealing their faces and bodies. Members of the community have been advised not to approach these gang members as they are potentially armed and dangerous. If anyone…" Click. Jove changed the channel over to the weather just as an image of the gang members flashed across the screen.

He had already heard of this mob on the previous morning’s news. In fact, they had been skulking around the area apparently for some time now, but Jove was lucky enough to not have seen any of them in person. At the moment, however, he was more concerned about the dark rainclouds looming outside the window.

"…Thunderstorms and heavy rain predicted after 3pm this afternoon for all local areas…"

Damn, he thought not wanting to walk home after school in a downpour.

As usual, Jove lost track of time and a quick glance at his watch told him it was after eight. His mate Cameron would already be waiting on the corner for him so they could walk to school together.

Jove guzzled down the rest of his breakfast and rushed out the front door, stuffing his books and sports clothes in his bag as he went.

He had barely made it to the corner when he saw Cameron run up from the next street, also running late. His bag and untucked shirt were flapping in the wind behind him.

Mornin’ mate, he panted when he finally stopped beside Jove. Had to wait for my sports shirt to dry. Forgot we had PE today.

Hey Cam. Well it’s good to see you actually remembered this time. Jove joked as they started to walk toward the school.

Yeah, that would’ve been convenient for ya. Cameron said nudging him.

Whatdya mean?

Well, I could have left you alone to do some fitness trainin’ with Tia. I’m sure she’d love that.

Shove off. You know she’d be more interested in talkin’ to her mates about Home and Away last night or somethin’.

Whatever. You know you gotta make a move sometime yeh? She’s not gonna stay a bachelorette forever.

Shut up will ya?

The conversation continued until they walked by the faded ‘Boonda State High School’ sign and through the front gate. They headed toward the group of tables where the rest of their friends gathered of a morning. The bell rang for home room just as they sat down.

What!? We just got here! Cameron groaned as another one of their friends came running up behind them.

Hey Mitch, Jove greeted him.

Mornin all. The boy panted back. You’ll never guess who Pa and I had to bring to school this morning. He paused and nudged Jove in the ribs. That misty-eyed chick Jovesy’s got his eyes on. Somethin’ bout car troubles.

Are you two conspirin’ with each other against me or somethin’? Jove replied dryly.

What? Don’t you want me to put in a good word for ya? Mitch nudged him again as the group started to break up and made their way to their respective home rooms. Jove and Mitch started moving to the building on the far end of the campus as Cameron walked toward the adjacent stairwell.

The three of them were now in Year Twelve, their final year of schooling. Cameron and Jove had known each other since primary school and had become firm friends. Mitch was then introduced to the group through Jove when they met on their first day of high school and they had been in the same home room ever since.

The conversation between Jove and Mitch continued through home room. Mitch lived just down the street from Tia and had given her a lift to school a couple of times now. Like the rest of their circle of friends, he knew of Jove’s crush and hardly passed up the opportunity to annoy him. He kept it up until they were seated in the back of their Maths class for first period and Jove was starting to get irritated.

You need to strike up a conversation with her somehow. Mitch persisted. Add her on Facebook or something.

She’s not on Facebook.

Mitch raised an eyebrow. How do you know that?

Jove’s face flushed guiltily. Already looked.

Alright you stalker. Well that’s weird anyway. Wonder what she’s got to hide?

Well she’s the new kid. Maybe she wants to start afresh. Besides, I bet I’m not the only one who has a crush on her. She’s smart, good at sport and looks like freakin’ Miranda Kerr.

An albino Miranda Kerr. Mitch added, trying to lighten Jove’s mood.

Albino means red eyes you idiot, Jove said sharply. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with having white pupils.

I never said there was anything wrong with white pupils! I reckon it adds to her… mysteriousness. Not to mention it isn’t her only distinguishing feature. Mitch winked as he moved his hands in such a way that outlined a woman’s figure.

A smirk ran across Jove’s face. Yeah I know. He noticed a few nosy faces were turning around to see what was so interesting. Luckily, the teacher was more engrossed with writing math functions on the board than paying attention to what was going on behind him.

Let’s finish this later. I need to get this stuff down if I’m to pass this next exam. Jove said as he picked up his pen and started copying the functions into his book.

Yeah, ‘cause everyone needs to know how to do linear equations. Mitch replied sarcastically.

Although Jove was serious about needing to get his work done, the deep monotonous tone of his teacher’s voice made it hard for him to keep focus. Before long, his mind started to wander as his thoughts about Tia continued and he pictured her in his mind.

Tia Favon was a pretty girl, good at sport and seemed to get along well with everybody. She was an only child who had apparently travelled around most of Australia with her father. She had only just arrived at the small east coast suburb of Boonda a couple of months ago to complete her senior schooling. Not much was known about her life before moving into town, but no-one really took much notice as they were all far too occupied with their studies.

Along with a lot of other guys in the school, Jove had taken an instant liking to her. She had the slim yet slightly muscular build of an athlete that he guessed was as a result of her phenomenal sporting abilities.

Her long, sandy brown hair flowed down to her shoulder blades and always seemed to be caught in a gentle breeze, even if there was not any wind. Her face revealed no flaws in her tanned skin, which was unusual for a teenager. But her most distinguishing feature was her deep brown eyes. Her pupils were not plain black like they should have been; instead they were a tainted with swirling shades of white that seemed to glow when she smiled.

Rumour had it that they gave her super powers like x-ray vision. To everyone’s disappointment, however, she admitted that it was simply a birth defect.

…Alright, make sure you all finish the problems in Chapter Twelve for homework. I’ll see you all again tomorrow. The teacher’s voice came back into focus as the lesson ended.

Jove swore silently as he realised most of his page was still blank. He was already struggling to keep up with his schoolwork and his lack of focus was not helping.

I see you didn’t get much work done either, Mitch commented as they walked outside into the courtyard for lunch.

Mmm, Jove answered as they headed towards their eating area. They sat at one of the stone tables with the rest of their mates.

Hey. Everyone greeted them in unison as they sat in their usual spot. Most of them already had their lunch bags open comparing food and swapping meals.

What did you get? Mitch leaned over the table to see if Jove had anything to swap.

Nothing today, he replied. I didn’t have time to pack anything. I’ll just get something from the tuckshop.

Wait up. I might grab something as well. Cameron followed while searching his pockets for some spare change.

"Oi you got two bucks I can